Garment having a foam cushion

ABSTRACT

A garment, for example a headpiece such as a “doo-rag”, which includes a pressure-imparting portion which secures the garment to a wearer&#39;s body. The garment has a foam cushion sewn into a seam thereof at the pressure-imparting portion, between the part of the garment which directly imparts pressure to the wearer&#39;s body and the wearer&#39;s body itself. The foam cushion prevents or lessens the formation of a line on the wearer&#39;s body, such as on the forehead in the case of a “doo-rag”, when the garment is held in place by the pressure-imparting portion.

PRIORITY CLAIM

Applicant hereby claims domestic priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/602,508, filed Aug. 19, 2004 entitled“Invisiline doo-rag”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This application is directed to the field of garments, and, moreparticularly, to garments, such as “doo rags”, which are held in placeby means of tying the garment in place on the wearer's body.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are many types of garments that are held on a person's body bymeans of pressure-imparting securing means, such as a pair of pants heldup by a belt or an apron held up by apron strings. Such garments have aproblem, namely the securing means must be tight to hold the garment inplace, and this usually means that the securing means must be tiedsecurely to prevent the possibility of movement of the garment.

Where the garment is held in place by a tight tying arrangement, such asapron strings or a tight belt, there is a tendency of thepressure-imparting securing means to form a mark, albeit temporary, onthe wearer's body. This mark results from the application of a pressure,or force, on the soft tissue of a wearer's body. The mark in manyinstances may be of little concern, as it is usually covered by thegarment, such as a mark which may form around the mid-section of awearer from wearing a belt all day. When the garment is removed, thebelt mark becomes visible, but this usually takes place in private, andso may not be a problem which causes most people any concern.

Where the garment is only worn temporarily, however, such as a doo-rag(as used herein, the term “doo-rag” refers to a headpiece used to covera wearer's head and usually is held in place by a pair of extensionswhich are tied in place on the back of the wearer's head) there is afurther problem. Such garments may be removed shortly before the wearergoes out into public. For example, some persons use a doo-rag tomaintain a hairdo in place overnight while sleeping, to prevent aphenomenon known as “bed head”, and remove the doo-rag in the morning,leaving an unsightly line on the wearer's forehead for some time afterremoval and after the wearer starts his or her day. In other instances,a doo-rag may be worn as a “fashion statement”, as is the case with manypersons who prefer “hip-hop” or other “urban” fashions. Such persons maywear the doo-rag in public, and then remove it when still in a publicforum, and leave a line on their forehead when they do so.

There is thus a problem which exists for persons who wear garments whichare held in place by pressure-imparting portion, namely the causation ofunsightly pressure-induced lines on their body. While these lines fadeover time, it would be preferred if they could be avoided entirely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly speaking, the invention is directed to a garment, such as adoo-rag, which is held in place on a wearer's body by somepressure-imparting mechanism, such as a belt or a tie. The inventivegarment includes a cushion which is located in the garment, preferablypermanently, and positioned so that it rests between thepressure-imparting mechanism and the wearer's body, preventing theformation of unsightly marks on the wearer's body as a result of thepressure which holds the garment in place.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the garment is a doo-rag,and the cushion is located in a seam at one end thereof, near a pair ofoppositely extending extensions which tie in the back of a wearer's headto secure the doo-rag in place.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description considered in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that thedrawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as adefinition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should bemade to the appended claims. It should be further understood that thedrawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwiseindicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate thestructures and procedures described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an inventive garment, in this case a doo-rag,in accordance with the invention, shown partly in breakaway;

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the garment of FIG. 1 in use, shown partly inbreakaway, with a wearer's head shown in phantom, to place the inventionin context; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a secondary embodiment of the invention,shown partly in breakaway, in which the garment is a pair of pants witha removable belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows, generally at 10, an inventive garment in accordance withthe invention. In FIGS. 1 and 2, garment 10 is a doo-rag.

Doo-rag 10 includes a head-covering portion 12 configured to conform tothe general shape of a wearer's head and usually made of a suitablefabric. Two extensions, or ties, 14 extend from head-covering portion 12from one side thereof. At the other side of head-covering portion 12 isa seam 16, inside which is disposed a cushion 18. Cushion 18 ispreferably made of foam, and, at this time, the preferred foam is soldby Darice, Inc. of Strongville, Ohio, under the trade name “FOAMIES”.Cushion 18 may be of any suitable size, to fit around the portion of thebody being contacted by the part of garment 10 which holds it in place,and for which there is concern about leaving a mark. In the case of adoo-rag, it is not generally necessary to place cushion 18 completelyaround the wearer's head, since the wearer is not as concerned aboutleaving a mark on the rear of the head. It is the forehead which is ofconcern. Cushion 18, therefore, should be of sufficient length to extendcompletely about that portion of the wearer over which the developmentof a mark is to be avoided or lessened.

This is a matter of design choice, however, depending upon the nature ofthe garment in which the invention is to be used. For example, in anapron, if desired, the cushion could extend completely around the body,even into the extension (apron strings), to ensure complete coverage, ifit was desired to avoid marking over the entire body. One of ordinaryskill in the art, without undue experimentation, would be well able todetermine the proper length of cushion for any particular application.

In FIG. 2, doo-rag 10 is shown in use on a wearers head 20 (shown inphantom). In use, extensions 14 are tied in a knot or bow 22 at the rearor the wearer's head 20, securing doo-rag 10 in place by exerting apressure or force over the front of the wearer's forehead. Cushion 18,by virtue of being placed within seam 16, is positioned at that place onthe wearer where the force is most likely to produce a mark, the(relatively) softer forehead. The cushioning effect of cushion 18prevents the formation of a deep mark, so that either no mark is leftor, if the user tightens knot 22 very tightly, any resulting markdisappears more quickly than would otherwise be the case.

It is preferred that cushion 18 extend as a single piece throughout theregion in which the pressure is expected to be exerted, to avoid anypotential for a mark being generated at the border of a single, tooshort, cushion or between multiple adjacent cushions.

It is also preferred that the inner portion of seam 16 (not shown) beflat, and not have any raised surfaces (such as a bump or raisedstitching), since the exertion of the pressure on the user's forehead,even with a cushion, could leave a mark where the raised surfacecontacts the forehead.

In this fashion, the inventive doo-rag 10 may lessen, or even eliminateentirely, the marking of a user's forehead.

In another embodiment, such as shown in FIG. 3, the invention may beapplied to a garment which has a removable securing mechanism, such as apair of pants 24 intended for use with a belt 26. As is conventional,pants 24 include belt loops 28 through which belt 26 is passed, and belt26 may be tightened about the user's (not shown) waist, thereby securingpants 24 in place. A cushion 30 may be disposed in a seam 32 whichextends substantially completely about pants 24, thereby cushioning thewearer against the application of pressure from belt 26. Thus, theinvention may be deployed in an environment in which it is to be used inwhich the mechanism for securing the garment in place is removable.

Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamentalnovel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodimentthereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutionsand changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and intheir operation, may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expresslyintended that all combinations of those elements and/or method stepswhich perform substantially the same function in substantially the sameway to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention.Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/ormethod steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosedform or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any otherdisclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a generalmatter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limitedonly as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

1. A garment comprising: means for covering a portion of a wearer'sbody; means for securing said means for covering in place on saidwearer's body; said means for securing including a pressure-impartingportion for imparting pressure on a portion of said wearer's body, so asto assist in securing said means for covering to said wearer's body; anda cushion disposed between said pressure-imparting portion and saidwearer's body, to lessen the severity of any pressure-imparted line onsaid wearer's body from said pressure-imparting portion.
 2. The garmentof claim 1, wherein said cushion comprises a resilient foam material. 3.The garment of claim 1, wherein said means for covering includes a seamat one end thereof, and said cushion is disposed within said seam. 4.The garment of claim 3, wherein said means for securing is disposedproximate said one end.
 5. The garment of claim 1, wherein said cushioncomprises a substantially integral piece extending along substantiallythe entire length of said pressure-imparting portion over which saidpressure-imparting portion imparts pressure to said wearer's body.
 6. Aheadpiece comprising: means for covering a portion of a wearer's head;means for securing said means for covering in place on said wearer'shead; said means for securing including a pressure-imparting portion forimparting pressure on a portion of said wearer's head, so as to assistin securing said means for covering to said wearer's head; and a cushiondisposed between said pressure-imparting portion and said wearer's head,to lessen the severity of a pressure-imparted line on said wearer's headfrom said pressure-imparting portion.
 7. The headpiece of claim 6,wherein said cushion comprises a resilient foam material.
 8. Theheadpiece of claim 6, wherein said means for covering includes a seam atone end thereof, and said cushion is disposed within said seam.
 9. Theheadpiece of claim 8, wherein said means for securing is disposedproximate said one end.
 10. The headpiece of claim 6, wherein saidcushion comprises a substantially integral piece extending alongsubstantially the entire length of said pressure-imparting portion overwhich said pressure-imparting portion imparts pressure to said wearer'shead.
 11. The headpiece of claim 6, wherein said headpiece is a“doo-rag”.
 12. The headpiece of claim 6, further comprising a neck coverextending from an end of said means for covering opposite said means forsecuring.
 13. The headpiece of claim 6, wherein said means for securingincludes at least one extension extending from said means for securing,said extension being configured to wrap about said wearer's head, andthereby permit said wearer to secure said headpiece in a desiredlocation on said wearer's head.
 14. The headpiece of claim 13, whereinsaid means for securing includes two extensions, said two extensionsbeing configured to permit said wearer to tie said extensions together,and thereby secure said headpiece to said wearer's head.
 15. A garmentcomprising: means for covering a portion of a wearer's body; means forreceiving a means for securing said means for covering in place on saidwearer's body; said means for securing including a pressure-impartingportion for imparting pressure on a portion of said wearer's body, so asto assist in securing said means for covering to said wearer's body; anda cushion disposed proximate said means for receiving, between saidpressure-imparting portion and said wearer's body, to lessen theseverity of a pressure-imparted line on said wearer's body from saidpressure-imparting portion.
 16. The garment of claim 15, wherein saidcushion comprises a resilient foam material.
 17. The garment of claim15, wherein said means for covering includes a seam at one end thereof,and said cushion is disposed within said seam.
 18. The garment of claim17, wherein said means for receiving said means for securing is disposedproximate said one end.
 19. The garment of claim 15, wherein saidcushion comprises a substantially integral piece extending alongsubstantially the entire length of said pressure-imparting portion overwhich said pressure-imparting portion imparts pressure to said wearer'sbody.